News

Travel Q&A: Overseas ATMs and the possibly too-long PIN dilemma

By Catharine Hamm

McClatchy Tribune News Service, Los Angeles Times

Posted:
07/23/2014 03:00:00 PM PDT

Updated:
07/24/2014 01:34:04 PM PDT

Q I've been reading with interest and confusion about automated teller machines when traveling to Europe. My Bank of America branch manager told me that Europe doesn't recognize personal identification numbers that are longer than four digits. Is this true?

A The branch manager is only partly correct. Some ATMs in Europe will not accept a PIN that's longer than four digits, but that doesn't mean all of them. This four-digit-limit "can be an issue with older ATMs," said Odysseas Papadimitriou, chief executive of personal financial websites CardHub.com and WalletHub.com, "and older ATMs are more prevalent in Europe than in the U.S. So a four-digit PIN is a great idea."

If you want to change your PIN, BofA has these instructions on its website: "To change your PIN, insert your ATM or debit card into a Bank of America ATM, enter (the) current PIN, select 'More Options,' select 'Change PIN' and follow the screen prompts."

BofA also notes that you should "be sure to know your PIN by numbers, as some ATMs outside the United States don't have letters on the keyboards."

In other words, if you know your PIN as a four-letter word (oh, the possibilities!), you should know that the word DRAT (I'm sure that's what you were thinking of) translates into 3728.